Wearable, mobile and/or portable devices, such as portable computer terminal devices, are used for a wide variety of different tasks. Such terminal devices allow the workers using them (“users”) to maintain mobility in their jobs, while providing the worker with desirable computing and data-processing functions on location when they need them. Furthermore, such terminal devices often provide a communication link to a larger, more centralized computer system or network that directs the activities of the user and processes any data that is collected through use of the terminal device.
One example of a specific use for such a wearable/mobile/portable terminal device is within a voice or speech driven work environment. Using a voice or speech dialog through the terminal device, a worker is directed through various tasks. That is, the work environment, including a central computing system and a plurality of speech-enabled terminal devices, is implemented using human speech. The terminal devices communicate with the central system over a wireless network. Speech is synthesized and played to the user, via the mobile terminal device, to direct the tasks of the user and to collect data. The user then provides answers in the dialog or asks questions, and the speech recognition capabilities of the mobile terminal device convert the user speech to a form suitable for use by the terminal device and central system. Thereby, using speech, a bidirectional communication stream of information is exchanged over a wireless network between the wireless wearable terminal device and the central computer system.
One specific example of a voice-enabled system is a product management system used in various inventory/order-based industries, such as food and retail product distribution, manufacturing, and quality control, for example. A central computer system runs a program for product tracking, management and order filling, and interfaces with multiple terminal devices and their users through a wireless communication network. The users perform various manual tasks, such as product picking and placement, per instructions they receive through the terminal device, via the central system and wireless network. The terminal device also allow the users to interface with the central computer system, such as to respond to inquiries or confirm the completion of certain tasks and to collect data, among other tasks.
In order to communicate with the wireless network, and ultimately with a central system, the individual terminal devices must be properly configured or enabled. Once so configured, they will be able to transmit data back and forth with a central system utilizing the wireless network. If not properly configured, they are not able to do so. Usually, the initial configuration of the terminal devices for an on-site wireless network is cumbersome, time-consuming and inefficient. It is particularly so because many applications and/or facilities might utilize a large number of terminals, corresponding to a large number of users or workers at the facility.
For example, in a typical application using terminal devices, the specific configuration file for use with a chosen wireless network is created to be downloaded to a terminal device. A cable is then connected between the terminal device and generally a host computer or other management system containing the proper configuration information. The terminal device is placed into a special state or mode for having the configuration file downloaded thereto. Then, the new configuration might be permanently stored or burned into the memory of the terminal device through further operation of that device. Once properly configured or enabled, the terminal device can then operate on the network.
As may be appreciated, while this process might be suitable for a small application, or with a wireless network that does not often change, the process of configuring a large number of terminals in this fashion is cumbersome and inefficient. Furthermore, it may be desirable or necessary to replace or repair one or more of the terminal devices, or to add additional terminal devices onto the network at a work site or facility. For new terminal devices, and those that have been repaired or replaced, the same cumbersome configuration procedure must take place, wherein each terminal device is individually coupled with the host computer with a cable for downloading a configuration file to allow the terminal device to operate on the selected wireless network.
Once on the network, one or more terminal devices might be selected to receive additional downloaded information, such as downloaded configuration files. However, each of those terminals still must be initially configured to operate with the wireless network before they can communicate and receive other information or data. While various features might be utilized to facilitate configuration, such as software control of the initial configuration to walk a user through the various initial steps, the cumbersome task of a one-by-one initial terminal configuration is still necessary.
For a site which has several hundred terminals, such a process may take hours. Furthermore, knowledge regarding a particular site's wireless network is still not particularly useful or practical for terminal device manufacturers which are initially configuring the devices. There are literally an infinite number of different networks with different parameters and settings that might be required to initially configure the terminals to work at an on site location. Furthermore, the customers or end users are usually reluctant to provide their network settings to the terminal device manufacturers in order to enhance any initial configurations or to make re-configuration simpler and more efficient after a repair or replacement.
Accordingly, to date, there has not been a practical and efficient way to avoid configuring terminal devices, one-by-one, to operate on a wireless network. As such, a tedious process is still necessary when either initially configuring terminal devices for a particular facility and network, or later adding terminal devices to the network and/or repairing and replacing malfunctioning terminals.
The present invention addresses such drawbacks in the prior art and provides terminal devices, apparatuses and methods for efficiently sharing data amongst multiple devices and providing them with the necessary or desired functional operability, such as a network configuration for a wireless network. The various advantages of the invention are more readily evident from the Detailed Description of the invention as set forth hereinbelow.